Lawsuit may be coming in Toluca pit bull shootings

Friday

Feb 7, 2014 at 8:08 PM

Gary L. Smith of the Journal Star

LACON – The turnout was sparse, but Friday's frigid weather didn't deter five hardy souls from turning out for another rally outside the Marshall County Courthouse to protest the fatal shooting of two pet pit bulls last year by the Toluca police chief.

And they were heartened to know that the possibility of a civil lawsuit is being considered by a Springfield attorney who has handled such cases.

"Tragedy doesn't wait for warm weather," said Doris Muller of W. Peoria, one of two members of Peoria Area Voices for Animals who drove to the small town to call attention to the killing of pit bulls named Hades last August and Marbles in April by Toluca Chief Terry Ryan.

The Peoria group has a vegan orientation and focuses partly on treatment of animals raised for food, but also advocates for pets and their owners in situations where questions have raised about police shootings of dogs, said Autumn Egbert of Peoria.

"We're trying to bring awareness to the issue. It's happened so many times," said Egbert, a free-lance artist who created some of the signs for the demonstration. "Police need to have training to deal with animal issues."

Hades was shot in a street-side parking area in front of owner Heather Graham's house by Ryan, who said the dog was barking and growling at him when he responded to a complaint from a neighbor. Marbles was shot when Ryan responded to reports of dogs being left in an apparently unoccupied house by owner Georgina Perez and believed the dog seemed threatening, according to State's Attorney Paul Bauer.

Bauer said after an earlier rally that he did not find evidence to charge Ryan with animal cruelty, and he even charged Perez with that offense for allegedly abandoning her dogs. That case is still pending.

But Bauer also urged Graham to consider a civil suit, and that appeared to be emerging as a possibility this week. Springfield attorney Stephen Hedinger, who lists animal issues among his areas of practice, said Thursday that he is considering such a case.

"I'm still investigating and considering an appropriate form of action," Hedinger said in a telephone interview.

There could be at least two foundations for such a case, Hedinger said. One would be a possible federal civil rights violation if the officer used lethal force when there were other alternatives.

"It is a fairly well-defined violation of civil rights to have your pet simply exterminated by the government," said Hedinger, who is representing Champaign County dog owners in a case based on that.

The other involves the familial relationship that people often have with their pets, he added. Even if a dog has no significant value as property, there can be damages based on the uniqueness of that relationship, he explained.

"At least one appellate court in Illinois has held that there can be damages above and beyond the fair market value (of the pet)," Hedinger said. "What that comes down to is a matter for the judge and jury to decide on."

Hedinger said he expects to make a decision soon whether to take the case. Meanwhile, the local activities are being noticed elsewhere, said Jeffrey Justice, a longtime Colorado activist who has been advising and assisting Graham and her supporters.

"The Hades case is getting national attention now," Justice said in an e-mail, "and experts in the field are looking into the situation."

Gary L. Smith can be reached at (800) 516-0389 or glsmith@mtco.com. Read his Northern Circuit blog at pjstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @Glsmithx.